Shea Langeliers hit three home runs, including a two-run drive in the ninth inning that lifted the Oakland Athletics over the Texas Rangers 4-3 on Tuesday night.
Langeliers, a 26-year-old who entered with 29 career big league homers, hit solo drives in the second off Nathan Eovaldi and in the seventh against David Robertson.
Texas led 3-2 in the ninth when Seth Brown walked with one out off José Leclerc (0-2) and Langeliers sent a first-pitch fastball to left-center for his fourth home run this season.
It was the first three-homer game for Langeliers, who hit a pair on Oct. 2, 2022, at Seattle and last Aug. 23 at the Chicago White Sox.
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Langeliers tied the score 1-1 when he homered on a splitter from Eovaldi and 2-2 when he connected on a knuckle split from Robertson, who was pitching on his 39th birthday.
Michael Kelly (1-0) threw a perfect eighth inning, and Mason Miller pitched a perfect 1-2-3 ninth for Oakland’s first save this season.
Texas went ahead when Marcus Semien homered on the first pitch from Alex Wood and Josh Smith hit an RBI single on Wood's sixth.
Texas Rangers - World Series Champions
Jonah Heim homered in the second and Evan Carter in the seventh against Mitch Spence.
Wood left with a calf cramp following four innings.
Rangers All-Star shortstop Corey Seager was given his second game off this season. Seager missed much of spring training after undergoing sports hernia surgery in late January.
TRAINER’S ROOM
A’s: INF Ryan Noda was scratched from the starting lineup after taking a pitch off his left hand during early batting practice. X-rays were negative, and Noda is day-to-day.
Rangers: 1B Nathaniel Lowe (right oblique strain), who hasn’t played this season, could begin a rehab assignment this weekend.
UP NEXT
Wednesday night’s middle game of the series will match area products on the mound. A’s RHP Ross Stripling (0-2, 3.75 ERA) is a graduate of Southlake Carroll High who lives in Granbury. Rangers LHP Cody Bradford (2-0, 2.13), from Aledo, will try to win three consecutive starts for the first time in his two-year big league career.
